Springfield narcotics detectives shut down family-run drug business that was dealing crack, marijuana and ecstasy in Old Hill neighborhood

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield narcotics detectives raided a Beacon Street residence in the Old Hill neighborhood Wednesday night, shutting down a family-run drug business that was supplying the neighborhood with crack, marijuana and ecstasy, police said.

Three siblings at 37 Beacon St. were charged with drugs and weapons charges, and police intend to summons their two parents into court on the same charges, said Sgt. Robert A. Tardiff of the Narcotics Bureau.

"It was a family affair," he said. "They were selling right out of their house."

Police confiscated a half pound of marijuana, 52 ecstasy tablets and 13 rocks of crack cocaine. They also found a sawed-off over-and-under shotgun and several rounds of shotgun and .22-caliber ammunition, Tardiff said. No .22 caliber weapon was found.

Arrested were Ezel Higgs, 22, and his sisters Sharmaine Higgs, 28, and Nicole Higgs, 24, all of 37 Beacon St.

They were charged with possession of crack cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy, each with intent to distribute, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card, violating a drug-free school zone and possession of a firearm during a felony, Tardiff said.

Their parents, Andrew Robinson, 54, and Darlene Higgs-Robinson, 53, also of 37 Beacon St., will be summonsed to court on the same charges, Tardiff said.

The couple was not arrested because each had health complications, he said.

Narcotics detectives, under the command of Capt. Peter J. Dillon, Lt. John P. Lynch and Tardiff, applied for a district court warrant on the residence after an ongoing surveillance revealed drug activity, Tardiff said.